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Ben-Hur is the fictional story of Judah ben-Hur, a Judean aristocrat who, during the reign of the Roman Emperor Augustus, is enslaved through the betrayal of his Roman friend Messala. Embittered and vengeful after regaining his freedom, he is redeemed after encountering Jesus Christ and witnessing his crucifixion. Originally a Lew Wallace novel of 1880, the story has been adapted for stage and screen numerous times.
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The story originated as a novel by General Lew Wallace which was published on November 12, 1880, by Harper and Brothers. Wallace's work is part of an important sub-genre of historical fiction set among the characters of the New Testament. The novel was a phenomenal best-seller; it soon surpassed Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin (1852) as the best-selling American novel and retained this distinction until the 1936 publication of Margaret Mitchell's Gone With the Wind. In 1912, Sears Roebuck published one million copies to sell for 39 cents apiece; the largest single year print edition in American history.
The novel was quickly adapted into numerous stage productions, including one which recreated the climactic chariot race on stage using live horses, full size chariots, and a series of treadmills. With the subsequent development of the cinema, the novel was also adapted into three motion pictures.
The 15 minute long 1907 silent film version still survives. Just like its successors, it too features a chariot race. It was directed by Canadian director Sidney Olcott with a screenplay by Gene Gauntier based on the Lew Wallace novel.
Cast:
The second silent version appeared in 1925, and starred Ramon Novarro in the title role; Francis X. Bushman played his friend Messala. It was one of the most lavish and spectacular Hollywood productions of the silent movie era, reportedly costing a then unprecedented 3.9 million dollars. Some of the crowd scenes were reported to use up to 125,000 extras! Several big Hollywood stars of the time appeared as uncredited crowd extras during the chariot race. The great chariot race scene (for which 200,000 feet of film, the most footage for any film in cinema history, were shot – eventually edited down to 750 feet) is still regarded as a triumph of exciting film making and was much imitated, (even so recently as the "pod race scene" in Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace almost 75 years later), although seldom so well as in the original. Some scenes were in 2-strip Technicolor. The film was directed by Charles Brabin, J.J. Cohn, and Fred Niblo, and was produced and distributed by MGM; the film made MGM's reputation as a heavyweight force in Hollywood. The film is the third highest grossing silent film in cinema history, taking in more than $5.5 million at the box office in 1925.
This film has been selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry.
The movie version of the story directed by William Wyler is the best-known today. It was done in the spectacular block buster style, and featured Charlton Heston as Judah ben-Hur and Stephen Boyd as Messala. It premiered at Loew's Theater in New York City on November 18, 1959.
This version won a stunning 11 Academy Awards (a number matched only by two other movies in the history of Academy Awards - Titanic in 1997 and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King in 2004):
The film was also nominated for one further award
Elements of the story include leprosy, naval battles among galleys, the Roman hippodrome, Roman adult adoption, Magus Balthasar, the Arab sheikh Ilderin.
Categories: 1880 books | 1907 films | 1925 films | 1959 films | AFI 100 Movies | AFI 100 Thrills | US National Film Registry
Page Updated: Sun Oct 3 06:29:15 2004
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